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CC 119 2012
2 euro coin
Proof
2 Euro Proof
Slovenia · 10 years of euro banknotes and coins
Mintage10,000
Issue price€7.00
Issue date3 Jan 2012
Edge letteringSLOVENIJA •
Market price€7.90
Issue occasion
The joint issue commemorates the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the euro. At the centre is the euro sign as a symbol of its international significance; grouped around it are people, the ECB Tower, ships, factories and wind turbines as symbols of the financial world, trade, industry, energy, and research and development. The design was created by Helmut Andexlinger and selected in a public online vote.
The design
The euro sign in the centre of the coin illustrates that the euro has become an exceptionally important factor in Europe and worldwide and has developed into a global player in the international monetary system over the last ten years. The design elements arranged around the euro sign symbolise the importance of the euro for people, the financial world (ECB Tower), trade (ships), industry (factories), the energy sector, and research and development (wind turbines). The artist’s initials “AH” appear below the image of the ECB Tower. The names of the issuing countries in their national languages are positioned centrally above the design, with the years 2002-2012 inscribed below.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Background on the topic
The euro was not created only with coins and banknotes in 2002. The third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union began as early as 1 January 1999. In initially eleven states, the exchange rates were irrevocably fixed, and the euro henceforth served as book money, for example for transfers, financial markets and public accounting. Greece joined this monetary area in 2001.
The legal and political foundation was primarily the Maastricht Treaty (Vertrag von Maastricht). It linked participation in the common currency to requirements concerning price stability, public finances, exchange rates and long-term interest rates. With the monetary union, responsibility for monetary policy passed from the national central banks to the European System of Central Banks (Europäisches System der Zentralbanken). Common monetary policy is decided in particular by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (Rat der Europäischen Zentralbank).
At the beginning of 2002, euro banknotes and coins entered circulation. Within short transition periods, they replaced, among others, the Deutsche Mark, the French franc, the Italian lira and the Spanish peseta. The changeover was an extensive logistical operation: cash had to be produced and distributed, vending machines and cash register systems adapted, and prices displayed in both currencies. Depending on the state, the former currencies remained authorized as means of payment in parallel for different lengths of time.
The coin system combines common and national elements. While the common side is designed according to shared specifications, the other side bears a motif of the respective issuing country. Regardless of this, the coins are valid throughout the entire currency area. Joint issues take up this principle, but use the same theme on the national sides of all participating countries.
When the issue appeared in 2012, the euro area comprised 17 EU member states; Estonia had been the most recent country to join in 2011. At the same time, the monetary union was under considerable political pressure as a result of the sovereign debt and banking crisis. The joint issue thus commemorated not only the changeover to cash, but also pointed to the institutional and economic interconnection of the member states through a common currency.
The legal and political foundation was primarily the Maastricht Treaty (Vertrag von Maastricht). It linked participation in the common currency to requirements concerning price stability, public finances, exchange rates and long-term interest rates. With the monetary union, responsibility for monetary policy passed from the national central banks to the European System of Central Banks (Europäisches System der Zentralbanken). Common monetary policy is decided in particular by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (Rat der Europäischen Zentralbank).
At the beginning of 2002, euro banknotes and coins entered circulation. Within short transition periods, they replaced, among others, the Deutsche Mark, the French franc, the Italian lira and the Spanish peseta. The changeover was an extensive logistical operation: cash had to be produced and distributed, vending machines and cash register systems adapted, and prices displayed in both currencies. Depending on the state, the former currencies remained authorized as means of payment in parallel for different lengths of time.
The coin system combines common and national elements. While the common side is designed according to shared specifications, the other side bears a motif of the respective issuing country. Regardless of this, the coins are valid throughout the entire currency area. Joint issues take up this principle, but use the same theme on the national sides of all participating countries.
When the issue appeared in 2012, the euro area comprised 17 EU member states; Estonia had been the most recent country to join in 2011. At the same time, the monetary union was under considerable political pressure as a result of the sovereign debt and banking crisis. The joint issue thus commemorated not only the changeover to cash, but also pointed to the institutional and economic interconnection of the member states through a common currency.
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